PUBLICATIONS

NCJRS Abstract

Subscribe to Stay Informed
Want to be in the know? JUSTINFO is a biweekly e-newsletter containing information about new publications, events, training, funding opportunities, and Web-based resources available from the NCJRS Federal sponsors. Sign up to get JUSTINFO in your inbox.

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Library collection.
To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the NCJRS Abstracts Database.

The authors mix materials from case files in the literature and reported in numerous research reports and the media to explore the policy implications of wrongfully convicting innocent people.

Abstract:

Even if the American criminal justice system proved 99.5 percent accurate, it would still generate more than 10,000 wrongful convictions a year and these would reflect only serious index crimes. Each time an innocent offender is wrongfully convicted, the actual offender remains free to continue victimizing. Specific issues associated with wrongful convictions and implications for society are analyzed, based on case studies and survey data that reflect the possible magnitude of the wrongful conviction problem. Major factors associated with the potential for error in the criminal justice system are identified, the importance of focusing on preventable errors to reduce the number of conviction injustices is emphasized, and problems in eyewitness identification and false confessions are noted. Policy issues related to wrongful convictions are examined that concern crime control versus due process, compensating and reintegrating convicted innocents, and the irreversible nature of capital punishment. References, notes, and tables

* A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents
not available online, a link to the publisher's web site is provided.

Find in a Library

You have clicked
. A title search of
WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click
"Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain
active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.